Isaiah 19:11-14
New English Translation
11 The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools;[a]
Pharaoh’s wise advisers give stupid advice.
How dare you say to Pharaoh,
“I am one of the sages,
one well-versed in the writings of the ancient kings?”[b]
12 But where, oh where, are your wise men?[c]
Let them tell you, let them find out
what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has planned for Egypt.
13 The officials of Zoan are fools,
the officials of Memphis[d] are misled;
the rulers[e] of her tribes lead Egypt astray.
14 The Lord has made them undiscerning;[f]
they lead Egypt astray in all she does,
so that she is like a drunk sliding around in his own vomit.[g]
Footnotes
- Isaiah 19:11 tn Or “certainly the officials of Zoan are fools.” אַךְ (’akh) can carry the sense, “only, nothing but,” or “certainly, surely.”
- Isaiah 19:11 tn Heb “A son of wise men am I, a son of ancient kings.” The term בֶּן (ben, “son of”) could refer to literal descent, but many understand the word, at least in the first line, in its idiomatic sense of “member [of a guild].” See HALOT 138 s.v. בֶּן and J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:371. If this is the case, then one can take the word in a figurative sense in the second line as well, the “son of ancient kings” being one devoted to their memory as preserved in their literature.
- Isaiah 19:12 tn Heb “Where are they? Where are your wise men?” The juxtaposition of the interrogative pronouns is emphatic. See HALOT 38 s.v. אֶי.
- Isaiah 19:13 tn Heb “Noph” (so KJV); most recent English versions substitute the more familiar “Memphis.”
- Isaiah 19:13 tn Heb “the cornerstone.” The singular form should be emended to a plural.
- Isaiah 19:14 tn Heb “the Lord has mixed into her midst a spirit of blindness.”
- Isaiah 19:14 tn Heb “like the going astray of a drunkard in his vomit.”
Isaiah 19:11-14
New International Version
11 The officials of Zoan(A) are nothing but fools;
the wise counselors(B) of Pharaoh give senseless advice.(C)
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I am one of the wise men,(D)
a disciple of the ancient kings”?
12 Where are your wise men(E) now?
Let them show you and make known
what the Lord Almighty
has planned(F) against Egypt.
13 The officials of Zoan(G) have become fools,
the leaders of Memphis(H) are deceived;
the cornerstones(I) of her peoples
have led Egypt astray.
14 The Lord has poured into them
a spirit of dizziness;(J)
they make Egypt stagger in all that she does,
as a drunkard staggers(K) around in his vomit.
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